


The Girl In The Mirror

by peridoll



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, Surreal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-26 15:25:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18182345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peridoll/pseuds/peridoll
Summary: Peridot buys a mirror from a yardsale and falls in love with the girl trapped inside of it. She finds out that was the biggest mistake of her life. Human AU. Ficlet.





	The Girl In The Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> I have, like, six other projects I should be working on but I've been sick for the past couple days and in my sickly haze I thought of this and I had to write it or else it wouldn't have left me alone. idk man sometimes you just gotta write something real edgy and weird to vent your feelings, ya know

Peridot lugged the heavy object up the stairs with a slurry of swears and grunts, knocking the ornate bottom edge against each step. Her roommate, stern arms crossed over her slender chest, met her at the top of the stairs, a thin eyebrow raised in scorn.

“Oh Lord, what did you buy now?” the slim woman sighed, running an exasperated hand down her angular face. 

“Just a-” Peridot heaved the object, which was taller than herself and draped with a dusty old sheet, over the final step, resting an elbow against the doorframe to their apartment. “Just a mirror for my room.”

“Something useful! That’s a first.” Her roommate gave the smaller girl’s shoulder a playful shove before holding the heavy wooden door open and inviting her into their living room. “Where did you did that up from? A dumpster?”

“A yard sale, you clod.” Peridot’s tongue stuck out in focus as she lifted the mirror into her arms once again, dirt smudged across her mint green tank-top. “Don’t worry, I’m gonna clean it. Don’t have an aneurysm, Pearl, your old lady heart couldn’t handle it. It’s your night to cook dinner, you can’t drop dead today.”

Her roommate snickered in pure amusement before Peridot trudged down the creaky hallway and ducked into her room, setting the full-length mirror down in its final destination across from her bed. She huffed, brushing loose strands of wavy blonde hair from her face, whipped the ivory sheet from the surface of the mirror, and stood with her hands on her hips to admire her great find.

It was certainly in rough condition. But the previous owner had been eager to get rid of it, and Peridot, a collector and hoarder at heart, took it for the measly price of five dollars.  _ ‘Haha! What a steal!’  _  It needed some work, but Peridot liked to keep her hands busy. It would be another fun job that would surely drive her roommate insane.

So, despite her better judgment, she began the cleaning process as Pearl prepared dinner and when the dinner bell rang, she ignored her roommate’s calls. She scrubbed years of build-on grime from the swirling golden trim, scraped away layers of dirt from the stained surface, and worried over the small, but dangerous looking cracks around the edges. At last, Pearl dragged the girl from her bedroom to eat, which she did with haste and urgency, anxious to return to her project.

Soon enough, after some elbow grease and a little bit of love, the mirror was restored to its former glory. Fingers sore and covered with soot, Peridot brushed the dust from her leggings and plopped onto the end of her bed. It was beautiful, a hidden treasure in a mess of garbage; the gold encircling the reflective surface sparkled, adorned with pretty blue gemstones at every corner. And the mirror itself, other than the minor cracks here and there, was astonishingly in good condition. And Peridot could finally check herself out fully in the morning.

 

 

And so the mirror sat across from Peridot’s bed obediently, as day after day she tried on outfits in the privacy of her own room, rather than having to sneak into Pearl’s to use her mirror. She twirled in her new summer dress, fixed the pockets of her frayed jean shorts, and appreciated the curves of her soft body after showers. 

One day, something caught her eye as she scurried around her room searching for her wallet; a blur of blue.

She stopped, glancing back at the mirror. She wasn’t wearing any blue; she wore a bouncy green dress with white polka dots. Cautiously, she stepped back into the reflection to find nothing out of the ordinary. She shrugged, rubbing her groggy insomnia-ridden eyes, and continued her hunt. She passed by again and glimpsed the same blur of blue.

Peridot jerked her head and watched as the background of the mirror, what should’ve been the reflection of her bed frame, melted into an inky blackness. Her eyebrows scrunched together quizzically and she stepped back into frame once again, but instead of her own reflection, she came face to face with a completely different girl.

Peridot reached out a hand, and the girl reached out as well. She lowered her hand, and the girl did the same. Peridot warily leaned in closer, studying the reflection’s face to make sure that it  _ definitely  _ wasn’t her, and it  _ wasn’t _ . Her fox-like face tilted down bashfully, pallid cheeks bony and malnourished. Her pupil-less eyes were like two full moons glowing in a perfect night sky, illuminating the rest of her drooping face. She wore a flowy periwinkle dress and no shoes.

“Wow… I seriously need to stop pulling all-nighters. I’m starting to see crazy shit,” Peridot commented to herself, grabbing the floral print throw blanket from the end of her bed and tossing it over the top of the mirror, covering up the unfamiliar girl in her reflection.

“Wait!” shouted a voice from beneath the fuzzy blanket. “Please don’t leave!” 

Peridot froze like a statue, glancing dumbfoundedly around her room. “He… hello? Who said that?”

“Please don’t abandon me like everybody else!” the voice begged. “I don’t want to be alone anymore!” The feminine voice, ringing out as if she spoke through an echo-y canyon, began to sob, and Peridot cringed. With slow movements, the blonde suspiciously raised the blanket back up to reveal the girl in the mirror again. On the other side of the mirror, the girl collapsed to her knees, willowy fingers hiding her delicate face as sobs wracked her thin frame. 

“This… isn’t normal,” Peridot stated matter-of-factly, rubbing her elbow sheepishly. “I… I gotta tell Pearl. She knows everything, she’ll know what to do-”

“Stop! You can’t tell anybody!” The girl’s words struck Peridot like an arrow through her heart. She crouched down to the girl’s level, pressing a palm against the cool surface of the mirror. “Please, you can’t tell anybody.”

Peridot watched in awe as the girl in the reflection hugged herself, tears leaving streaks down her pale cheeks. Her silky black hair covered one of her glowing eyes, and Peridot could only sit and wish to reach out and brush it aside for her. “Aw, jeez, uh… Okay, I won’t. But… who are you?” 

With a small sniffle, the girl in the reflection flipped her hair back, tilting her head. “You… actually want to know?”

Peridot shrugged. “Sure, I guess. I must be having one huge daydream scenario or a crazy hallucination, or maybe sleep paralysis.  I’ll wake up at any moment none of this can be real!” 

“This isn’t a dream. I’m trapped in here, and- you don’t have to help me get out, but I don’t want to be alone anymore, so please don’t sell me again.” The girl’s hands clasped together as she shifted on her knees, tucking one leg beneath her dress. 

“I won’t, but- how did you get trapped in there?” Peridot questioned, copying the girl’s comfy position. 

“I… don’t remember, but it’s doesn’t matter,” the girl reassured. 

“So… what if I break the mirror? Will that set you free? Or is it like some kind of genie situation?” 

The girl’s beaming white eyes flickered, and she shook her head. “No, you can’t break it. That will only cut off our connection.”

“I’m brainstorming here, uh… How about if I…” Peridot adjusted her round glasses in thought, eyes wandering around her room, but her gaze found its way back to the beautiful girl sat on the other side of the glass. 

“Don’t worry, really. You don’t have to save me. You saved me just by cleaning the mirror off a bit. This is the first time I’ve been able to see out for a long time! I was in that damn basement for… God knows how many years.” She giggled a sweet laugh, as smooth as butter, and Peridot’s cheeks flushed. 

“Well if we’re gonna be roommates,” the blonde joked some more, swelling with pride as she elicited another cute laugh from the mirror girl, “What’s your name?”

“I’m Lapis.”

“Hi, I’m Peridot.” She couldn’t stop the goofy grin from stretching across her face. A small smile pulled at the corners of Lapis’s thin lips.

“Nice to meet you, Peridot.”

 

* * *

 

 

Day after day, Peridot communed with the girl in the mirror. She would rush to her bedroom after work or class and settle down in front of her reflection and watch in wonder as the picture before her transformed into the endless black backdrop, and the enchanting woman faded into frame. She always appeared like a soft mist, her eyes the first thing to manifest. Peridot oftentimes found herself staring too much, as if in a trance, but Lapis would snap her out of it with a friendly bark.

They talked like any normal roommates would, bickering and bantering until the sunset. A few times, Pearl caught Peridot mid-conversation, seemingly talking to herself, and would knock on the door. Surely her roommate thought Peridot was simply losing her mind. But she blamed Lapis, with all of her subtle flirting and sugary praises.

Peridot was undoubtedly falling in love with the girl in the mirror. And she watched it happen like an unstoppable trainwreck. 

Sometimes she would feel a pair of glowing white eyes resting on her as she fell asleep, or feel the girl’s presence behind her as she dressed and undressed. But oddly enough, despite the strange circumstances, she welcomed her new audience. Lapis would occasionally chime in, complimenting the blonde’s outfit choice, calling her cute or handsome or whatever adjective fit her at that moment. But soon a pit of guilt formed in Peridot’s stomach. ‘ _ If only you could come with me… _ ’ she would think, chewing on her bottom lip. 

Sometimes they would sit face to face with their palms pressed against either side of the glass. Lapis’s fingers were much longer than her own, like tree branches reaching towards the clouds. They would sit like that for a while, nervous gazes fluttering here and there to avoid direct eye contact. Other times that’s all they would do; stare deep into each other’s eyes, unblinking. Peridot would begin to feel woozy as if she was stumbling blindly through a heavy, intoxicating fog. But that was love, wasn’t it? Those  _ were  _ the common symptoms. Lapis just… wasn’t a normal girl, is all. Otherwise, it was completely normal, right?

 

* * *

 

 

Peridot sat with her back against the glass, knees tucked in as she balanced her laptop on top of them. Lapis leaned over her shoulder to enjoy the video she was watching as well, and they laughed together. If only things could be different, Peridot mused… Behind her, Lapis sighed dreamily.

“Peridot…” the girl on the other side of the mirror whispered, fingers spreading against the surface between them. 

Peridot’s cheeks turned pink, and she slid her laptop onto the carpet and twisted where she sat, enthusiastically pressing her hand against the glass as well. She yearned to feel Lapis’s warm skin instead of the chilling glass for once. “Yeah, Lapis?”

The beautiful girl’s lips pursed, and her radiating gaze bore directly through Peridot’s heart. “Kiss me.”

“Kiss you…?” Peridot repeated, her heart skipping a beat-  _ lovestruck _ \- as Lapis plant her lips against the glass, her blinding eyes slipping shut. “Oh- yeah!” Feeling a spark of excitement, she leaned in and firmly kissed the mirror in return-

Icy fingers grasped her face, and Peridot’s hazel eyes shot open in surprise. They were Lapis’s hands, phasing through the mirror like it wasn’t an obstacle at all. She stuck her head through next and they kissed again, though Lapis’s lips tasted disturbingly bitter. Limb by limb, the girl crawled through the mirror until she tackled Peridot to the floor, knocking her glasses from her face. Peridot struggled to find any words to say, dazed as she held her crush in her arms. “Lapis, you’re… you’re free! This is unbelievable! How did we-?”

Lapis’s frigid hands suddenly grabbed Peridot’s throat in a vice-like grip, sucking all of the air from the smaller girl’s lungs. The slender woman, pretty blue dress draping over her bare-boned form, rose to her feet and dragged Peridot with her, choking her as she squirmed desperately. Peridot stared into the moon-like eyes of her lover and, finally able to see past the blinding light, saw her own mortified reflection staring back. “La… pis…?”

“Good girl, you freed me,” the woman cooed, voice dripping with acid. “That took a lot less time than I expected. I really had you wrapped around my finger, didn’t I?” She giggled her addicting little giggle that once captured Peridot’s heart in a bubble of warmth, but now it stabbed like a dagger. Peridot dug her stubby fingernails into the woman’s abrasive hands, trying to free herself from her grip but to no avail. She went to kick her legs wildly, but Lapis stopped her in her tracks as she tossed her small body towards the mirror. Instead of slamming against the solid surface, Peridot soared through to the other side, where the endless darkness awaited. She landed hard on her shoulder and yelped in pain.

“An eye for an eye,” Lapis whispered, innocently pacing in front of the full-length mirror as Peridot scrambled to her feet. 

“Lapis, what are you doing?! You don’t have to do this!” the blonde screeched, banging her fists against the solidifying glass.

The woman, only minutes ago a vision of her dreams now morphed into her greatest nightmare, bent down and snatched Peridot’s abandoned glasses from the rug. As she pushed them onto the bridge of her nose, her appearance shifted substantially; her dark bob lightened in color, straight locks turning to beachy waves, her sickly skin changing to a freckled, fair canvas. She shrunk in height, twig-like form growing soft and curvy. As Lapis turned towards the mirror, Peridot could only observe in terror as the girl became a perfect reflection of herself. She blinked behind the round glasses, glowing eyes instantly turning into Peridot’s green-hued hazel gaze. A smirk tugged at her lips.

“Peridot, we’re going to be late!” Peridot’s roommate yelled from outside the bedroom door. Peridot collapsed to her knees behind the unforgiving glass, sinking into the black ground like quicksand as she pounded hopelessly against the surface. Maybe her roommate would hear it and come to check and  _ somehow  _ stop this. The spindly appendages of the darkness surrounding her on all sides began to wrap around her ankles, tugging her backward. 

“Lapis! Let me out!” Peridot cried, fingers grasping for purchase as the hands that moved up to her calves pulled her towards the endless nothing. “Please, don’t do this! Why can’t we both be free?!”

“Because,” Lapis’s voice sounded far away as if she was down a long, dark tunnel. She slipped out of her dress and stole a shirt and a pair of jeans from Peridot’s wardrobe, shoving her feet into Peridot’s combat boots. “That’s not how this works. Someone has to be in there. It’s nothing personal.” The woman stalked just out of frame towards Peridot’s desk, and as the small, helpless girl fought against the impending darkness with all of her might, clawing and grabbing at the ground below her as it turned to sludge between her fingers, tears stung her eyes. 

Lapis came back into the reflection holding a hammer from Peridot’s toolbox. She squeezed it in her cold grip before raising it above her head, eyes searing with an unquenchable rage. “Goodbye, Peridot.” Just as Peridot’s weak grip gave way and the darkness seized her around the waist in its chilling arms, Lapis swung the hammer and shattered the image of her cozy bedroom into a million shards before Peridot’s eyes. 

Peridot fell limp as the darkness devoured her in its ravenous jaws.


End file.
